Gun oil composition

ABSTRACT

A gun oil composition adapted specifically for the needs and requirements of modern firearms. The gun oil composition improves lubricity and gun performance under normal and extreme heat and pressure, minimizes and largely prevents the build-up of carbon and debris fouling on metal and non-metal components of the firearm, and substantially reduces cleaning time, while providing increased protection against environmental components such as dust, dirt and rust. The gun oil composition can include a high viscosity base oil, a medium viscosity oil with detergent additive, and a low viscosity penetrating oil.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

N/A.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. The Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a gun oil composition for use in modernfirearms.

2. Background and Relevant Art

For outdoor and shooting enthusiasts, proper care and maintenance ofoutdoor gear is a priority for ensuring proper function and longevity ofuse of equipment. In particular, attention to proper cleaning andmaintenance of firearms has been a point of emphasis for outdoor andshooting enthusiasts. Most traditional firearms are utilized in outdoorsettings where rain, snow, dirt, dust, mud, humidity and other factorscan cause rust or otherwise interfere with proper operation of afirearm.

Traditionally, firearm users are encouraged to clean and oil theirfirearms after each use. Traditional gun oils are intended to clean,lubricate and protect the metal components of the firearms from rust.Traditional gun oils are configured primarily as a barrier to keep metalparts from being exposed to oxygen and environmental oxidizing agentssuch as moisture. By providing a barrier between the metal andenvironmental elements such as air, humidity, water, and/or dirt,traditional gun oil protects the barrel of the firearm and other metalcomponents of the firearm from the elements. In short, traditional gunoils are primarily designed to provide protection from rust andcorrosion. However, traditional gun oil can also provide other benefitsto the firearm including providing lubrication (lubricity) to movingparts, trapping carbon or other fouling within the oil thereby reducingthe amount of material that is deposited on internal surfaces of thefirearm, and facilitating cleaning of the firearm. Nevertheless,traditional gun oils are largely designed with the objective ofpreventing rust and corrosion, and secondarily lubrication.

New developments in modern firearms have given rise to new needs andrequirements for maintenance, cleaning, and repair. While traditionalgun oil is the preferred oil of consumers, it is primarily formulated toprevent rust and corrosion from moisture and the elements. In otherwords, gun oils have not adapted to the extreme operating conditionswhich are frequently experienced with modern firearms.

Modern firearms have more complex designs compared to their traditionalcounterparts. Advancements in “AR” and “AK” technologies involve gasoperated moving parts. For example, the AR Rifle (ArmaLite, Inc.)utilizes a direct impingement gas operation or long/short stroke pistonoperation. Gas operated moving parts rely on cycling of combustionexhaust from the firing of ammunition for proper operation of thefirearm. As a result, fouling from combustion of the gunpowder in theammunition is cycled back through the firearm, instead of simply beingdischarged from the end of the barrel like in traditional firearms. As aresult, much higher volumes of carbon exhaust cycle through the movingparts of the modern firearm than in traditional firearms that rely onmanual manipulation to cycle the action of the firearm. This leads tofaster carbon build-up in modern firearms than in traditional firearms.

Modern firearms are also designed for greater round counts. For example,a user may regularly fire hundreds or even thousands of rounds in asingle training session or over the course of a few days, whereastraditional firearms were designed for much less frequent and lessextensive use (e.g., 10, 20 or a few dozen rounds). As a result of thegreater round counts and the additional moving parts, the amount offriction and heat can be appreciably and substantially higher in modernfirearms than in traditional firearms. Greater friction and heatcombined with the build-up of carbon leads to fouling and the “baking”of carbon directly on components of the firearm. It is not unusual forshooters to spend significant time and energy removing built up carbonwhich has caked onto pistons, control arms, or other internal componentsof a modern firearm.

A variety of tools and techniques have been developed to remove caked oncarbon from gun parts. Many of these tools are designed for manuallyscraping and loosening of the carbon or other build-up. Some strongsolvents are also utilized to deal with cleaning and removing of carbonbuild up or other fouling. However, some are not pH neutral and canactually damage the metal parts and external finish of the gun.Similarly, scraping can lead to scratching the surface of the metal. Inmany cases, after firing of several hundred or several thousand rounds,the process of removing carbon build-up and cleaning the metal parts ofthe firearm is not only time-consuming, but can damage the firearm anddetract from the precision, integrity, functionality, and value of thefirearm, as well as the enjoyment of outdoor and shooting activities forthose who clean and maintain the firearm.

Accordingly, there are a number of disadvantages to known gun oilcompositions and the use thereof alone and in combination with otherfirearm care products, tools, and techniques that can be addressed.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Implementations of the present invention solve one or more of theforegoing or other problems in the art with a gun oil compositionadapted to address the needs, requirements, and extreme operatingenvironment and conditions of modern firearms. In particular, the gunoil composition is configured to provide greater lubricity and enhancedgun performance under normal and extreme heat and pressure, to reduce,minimize, and/or largely prevent the build-up of carbon and debrisfouling on metal and non-metal components of the firearm, to provideenhanced cleaning and substantially reduce cleaning time, and/or toprovide increased protection against environmental components such asdust, dirt and rust even in severe environmental applications. In atleast one implementation, the gun oil composition comprises a highviscosity base oil and a medium-viscosity oil with detergent additive.Certain implementations can also include a low viscosity penetratingoil, a low viscosity sulfurized ester, and/or additional additives.

Additional features and advantages of exemplary implementations of theinvention will be set forth in the description which follows, and inpart will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by thepractice of such exemplary implementations. The features and advantagesof such implementations may be realized and obtained by means of theinstruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims. These and other features will become more fully apparent fromthe following description and appended claims, or may be learned by thepractice of such exemplary implementations as set forth hereinafter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Implementations of the present invention provide a gun oil compositionadapted to address the needs, requirements, and extreme operatingenvironment and conditions of modern firearms. In particular, the gunoil composition is configured to provide greater lubricity and enhancedgun performance under normal and extreme heat and pressure, to reduce,minimize, and/or largely prevent the build-up of carbon and debrisfouling on metal and non-metal components of the firearm, to provideenhanced cleaning and substantially reduce cleaning time, and/or toprovide increased protection against environmental components such asdust, dirt and rust even in severe environmental applications. In atleast one implementation, the gun oil composition comprises a highviscosity base oil and a medium-viscosity oil with detergent additive.Certain implementations can also include a low viscosity penetratingoil, a low viscosity sulfurized ester, and/or additional additives.

As used herein, preventing carbon build-up relates to the reduction andprevention of fouling during operation of the firearm and from thecombination of heat, pressure, and combustion by-products. Similarly,lubrication relates to reduction of friction and friction related heat.Likewise, cleaning relates to expediting removal of carbon, unburnedpowder, and other debris that result from operation of the firearm.Furthermore, rust and corrosion prevention relates to protecting thebarrel, metal, and other corrosion prone components of the firearm fromoxidation and/or other chemical alterations.

In a first implementation, the gun oil composition of the presentinvention comprises a medium to high viscosity base oil. The base oilcan comprise the major component of the gun oil composition. The baseoil can comprise a mineral based oil, synthetic or synthetic blends suchas a hydrocarbon, polyalphaolefin, polyinternal olefin, and/or API GroupV esters. The base oil can comprise, for example, up to 20% by weight ofesters in certain implementations. While high viscosity base oils forfirearms will be known to those skilled in the art, exemplary base oilsof the present invention can comprise conventional motor oil(s),synthetic motor oil(s), and/or blends thereof. According to oneillustrative implementation of the present invention, the high viscositymineral based oil comprises a synthetic 10W-30 weight motor oil. Onewill appreciate, however, that other high viscosity oils are alsocontemplated herein. Accordingly, in another implementation of thepresent invention, the high viscosity mineral based oil comprisesanother mineral based motor oil.

In some implementations of the present invention, the gun oilcomposition comprises a medium viscosity mineral oil. For example, amedium viscosity mineral oil can include an automatic transmission fluid(ATF). In at least one implementation, the medium viscosity mineral oilcomprises a mineral based or synthetic oil having at least one detergentadditive. The medium viscosity mineral based oil can optionally includeadditional additives including anti-wear additives, rust and corrosioninhibitors, dispersants and surfactants, kinematic viscosity andviscosity index improvers, anti-oxidation compounds, and/or other knownATF additives.

According to one illustrative aspect of the present invention, themedium viscosity mineral based oil can include antiwear and/or extremepressure agents such as sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus, boron, orcombinations thereof. The classes of compounds can include alkyl andaryl disulfides and polysulfides, dithiocarbamates, chlorinatedhydrocarbons, and phosphorus compounds such as alkyl phosphates,phosphites, dithiophosphites, and alkynylphosphonates. These antiwearand extreme pressure additives can function, at least in part, bythermal decomposition and/or forming products that react with a metalsurface to form a solid protective layer that fills surface cavities andfacilitates effective film formation to reduce friction and preventwelding and surface wear. Illustrative (metal) films can include ironhalides, sulfides and/or phosphates depending upon the antiwear andextreme pressure agents used. Illustrative friction modifiers can form aprotective film via physical and chemical absorption.

In certain implementations, the gun oil composition further comprises apenetrating oil. The material properties and chemical compositions ofcertain penetrating oils will be familiar to those skilled in the art.According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention, apenetrating oil comprises one or more (severely) hydrotreated petroleumdistillates, light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycolethers, and/or other (proprietary) ingredients.

Penetrating oils can, where appropriate, be characterized as having alow viscosity and can penetrate into millionth inch spaces, effectivelypreventing or breaking bonds caused by, formed by, resulting in, and/orrelated to rust, corrosion, contamination or compression. Penetratingoils, in some instances, can allow breaking of the molecular bond ofoxidation or other chemical alterations at the (first) molecular level.Disruption of these chemical bonds can occur while remaining chemicallyneutral to the base metal. In some implementations, the penetrating oilcan comprise or consist of a commercially available penetrating oil,such as Kroil™ or a related product or derivative thereof, such as, forexample, AeroKroil™, SiliKroil™, Penephite™, etc. (available, forexample, from Kano Laboratories). In other implementations, thecommercially available penetrating oil can comprise or consist of DeepCreep™, PB Blaster Chemical™, WD-40™ Penetrant, Liquid Wrench™, and/orother similar products. One will appreciate, however, that one or moreadditional or alternative penetrating oils, including specially-designedor manufactured penetrating oils, non-commercially available penetratingoils, and/or combinations of any of the above or other penetrating oilscan be appropriate in certain implementations.

In at least one implementation, the gun oil composition comprises a lowviscosity sulfurized ester or other low viscosity additive such assulfurized fatty ester or fatty vegetable oil. The sulfurized esteradditive can be adapted to provide excellent extreme pressure andantiwear properties (e.g., in combination with appropriate antiwearadditives in mineral oils and/or greases. Sulfurized esters can alsooffer outstanding solubility characteristics in naphthenic hydrocarbonsand/or solvents of base oils of the gun oil composition. Similarly,sulfurized esters can provide desired chemical properties when used incombination with ash-comprising or ashless phosphorus-type antiwear andlubricity additives.

Additionally, the sulfurized ester additive can remain inactive forand/or against ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The sulfurized esteradditive can be selected from a family of esters which have been foundto be useful in severe environmental applications to providelow-temperature flowability with clean, high temperature operation.According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention,the sulfurized ester can provide a combination of branchingstructure(s), characteristic(s), and/or properties and/or polarity thatcan protect metal, reduce volatility, and improve energy efficiencythrough higher lubricity.

EXAMPLE 1

According to one illustrative implementation of the present invention,the gun oil composition can include: a major amount of a base oilmixture from about 10 wt. % to about 90 wt. % of a first mineral oilselected from a group of high viscosity index mineral oil such asconventional and/or synthetic hydrocarbons, polyalphaolefins, andpolyinternal olefins, and optionally including up to 20% esters; amedium viscosity oil mixture, such as an automatic transmission fluidfrom about 10 wt. % to about 50 wt. % having a mineral based oil and atleast one detergent additive, and optionally including one or moreadditional additives, such as those known to one of ordinary skill inthe art to be commonly added to automatic transmission fluid; a lowviscosity penetrating oil from about 2 wt. % to about 25 wt. %comprising one or more severely hydrotreated petroleum distillates,light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ether, and/orother (proprietary) ingredients; and a sulfurized ester or derivativethereof from about 2% wt. % to about 25 wt. %.

EXAMPLE 2

According to another illustrative implementation of the presentinvention, the gun oil composition can include: a major amount of a baseoil mixture from about 25 wt. % to about 60 wt. % of a first mineral oilselected from a group of high viscosity index mineral oil such asconventional and/or synthetic hydrocarbons, polyalphaolefins, andpolyinternal olefins, and optionally including up to 20% esters; amedium viscosity oil mixture, such as an automatic transmission fluidfrom about 25 wt. % to about 45 wt. % having a mineral based oil and atleast one detergent additive, and optionally including one or moreadditional additives , such as those known to one of ordinary skill inthe art to be commonly added to automatic transmission fluid; a lowviscosity penetrating oil from about 5 wt. % to about 15 wt. %comprising one or more severely hydrotreated petroleum distillates,light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ether, and/orother (proprietary) ingredients; and a sulfurized ester or derivativethereof from about 5% wt. % to about 15 wt. %.

EXAMPLE 3

According to yet another illustrative implementation of the presentinvention, the gun oil composition can include: a major amount of a baseoil mixture from about 25 wt. % to about 50 wt. % of a first mineral oilselected from a group of high viscosity index mineral oil such asconventional and/or synthetic hydrocarbons, polyalphaolefins, andpolyinternal olefins, and optionally including up to 20% esters; amedium viscosity oil mixture such as an automatic transmission fluidfrom about 35 wt. % to about 45 wt. % having a mineral based oil and atleast one detergent additive, and optionally including one or moreadditional additives, such as those known to one of ordinary skill inthe art to be commonly added to automatic transmission fluid; a lowviscosity penetrating oil from about 5 wt. % to about 15 wt. %comprising one or more severely hydrotreated petroleum distillates,light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, glycol ether, and/orother (proprietary) ingredients; and a sulfurized ester or derivativethereof from about 12% wt. % to about 15 wt. %.

The gun oil composition of the present invention can provide animmediate and/or substantially improved lubricity, improved performanceunder extreme heat and/or pressure, can minimizes and/or largelyprevents the build-up of carbon and/or debris (fouling) on metal andnon-metal components of the firearm, and can substantially reducecleaning time while providing increased protection against environmentalcomponents such as dust, dirt and rust. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that the gun oil composition of the present inventionprovides improved performance not only under normal operatingconditions, but also in extreme operating environments of high heat,high pressure, and/or during prolonged activity and/or repeated use.

The gun oil composition can include components that are highly viscous,components that are moderately viscous with desirable anti-wear and highpressure performance capabilities, and components that have lowviscosity and penetrating properties with additives that can reducevolatility and improve energy efficiency through higher lubricity. Thus,implementations of the gun oil composition can be well-suited to theneeds of modern firearms by providing both rust and corrosionresistance, and can provide and/or allow: substantially enhancedlubricity performance under extreme heat and pressure; and substantialimprovement in preventing buildup of carbon, debris, and otherenvironmental contaminants by trapping, controlling, and/or removing thesame said contaminants.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the performanceenhancement provided by implementations of the gun oil composition ofthe present invention is not only a result of the chemical formulationof the combined components and additives, individually or collectively,at lower temperatures and under milder (loading) conditions, but also asa result of the chemical properties thereof pursuant to thermaldecomposition and any resultant products that may result during extremetemperature, pressure, and/or other factors in extreme operatingenvironments. Thus, implementations of the present invention can provideadditional benefits, qualities, and/or properties as the componentsthemselves are exposed to normal and/or extreme operating conditions (orundergo chemical, physical, or other changes thereby).

The present invention may be implemented and/or embodied in otherspecific forms without departing from its spirit or essentialcharacteristics. The described embodiments are to be considered in allrespects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of theinvention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than bythe foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning andrange of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within theirscope.

I claim:
 1. A gun oil composition, comprising: a base oil having a highviscosity index; and an oil mixture comprising a base oil having amedium viscosity index and at least one additive.
 2. The gun oilcomposition of claim 1, wherein the high viscosity base oil comprises afirst oil selected from the group consisting of a mineral based oil, asynthetic oil, a synthetic blend oil, a hydrocarbon, a polyalphaolefins,a polyinternal olefin, a conventional motor oil, a synthetic motor oil,a synthetic blend motor oil, and an API Group V ester.
 3. The gun oilcomposition of claim 2, wherein the first oil is selected from the groupconsisting of a conventional motor oil, a synthetic motor oil, asynthetic blend motor oil.
 4. The gun oil composition of claim 3,wherein the first oil comprises a 10W-30 weight oil.
 5. The gun oilcomposition of claim 1, wherein the high viscosity base oil comprises upto 20% by weight of one or more esters.
 6. The gun oil composition ofclaim 1, wherein the high viscosity base oil comprises a portion of thegun oil composition selected from the group consisting of about 10 wt. %to about 90 wt. %, about 25 wt. % to about 60 wt. %, and about 25 wt. %to about 50 wt. %.
 7. The gun oil composition of claim 6, wherein thehigh viscosity base oil comprises from about 25 wt. % to about 60 wt. %of the gun oil composition.
 8. The gun oil composition of claim 7,wherein the high viscosity base oil comprises from about 25 wt. % toabout 50 wt. % of the gun oil composition.
 9. The gun oil composition ofclaim 1, wherein the oil mixture comprises a portion of the gun oilcomposition selected from the group consisting of about 10 wt. % toabout 50 wt. %, about 25 wt. % to about 45 wt. %, and about 35 wt. % toabout 45 wt. %.
 10. The gun oil composition of claim 1, wherein the oilmixture comprises an automatic transmission fluid.
 11. The gun oilcomposition of claim 1, wherein the at least one additive is selectedfrom the group consisting of an anti-wear additive, a rust inhibitor, acorrosion inhibitor, a dispersant, a surfactant, a kinematic viscosityimprover, a viscosity index improver, an anti-oxidant, an anti-oxidationcompound, and combinations thereof.
 12. The gun oil composition of claim1, wherein the oil mixture further comprises an anti-wear and extremepressure agent selected from the group consisting of sulfur, chlorine,phosphorus, boron, and combinations thereof.
 13. The gun oil compositionof claim 12, wherein the anti-wear and extreme pressure agent belongs toa class of compounds selected from the group consisting of alkyldisulfides, aryl disulfides, alkyl polysulfides, aryl polysulfides,dithiocarbamates, chlorinated hydrocarbons, phosphorus compounds, alkylphosphites, phosphates, dithiophosphates, and alkynylphosphonates. 14.The gun oil composition of claim 1 further comprising a low viscosityoil.
 15. The gun oil composition of claim 14, wherein the low viscosityoil comprises a portion of the gun oil composition selected from thegroup consisting of about 2 wt. % to about 25 wt. %, and about 5 wt. %to about 15 wt. %.
 16. The gun oil composition of claim 14, wherein thelow viscosity oil comprises a penetrating oil comprising one or morecomponents selected from the group consisting of petroleum distillates,light petroleum distillates, aliphatic alcohols, and glycol ethers. 17.The gun oil composition of claim 15, wherein the penetrating oil isconfigured to accomplish one or more functions selected from the groupconsisting of penetrating into millionth inch spaces, preventing theformation of molecular bonds involved in rust formation, preventing theformation of molecular bonds involved in corrosion, preventing theformation of molecular bonds involved in oxidation, preventing theformation of molecular bonds involved in contamination, preventing theformation of molecular bonds involved in compression, breaking molecularbonds involved in rust formation, breaking molecular bonds involved incorrosion, breaking molecular bonds involved in contamination, breakingmolecular bonds involved in compression, breaking molecular bondsinvolved in oxidation, and remaining chemically neutral to a metalsubstrate while accomplishing the same.
 18. The gun oil composition ofclaim 1 further comprising a low viscosity sulfurized ester.
 19. The gunoil composition of claim 18, wherein the low viscosity sulfurized estercomprises a portion of the gun oil composition selected from the groupconsisting of about 2 wt. % to about 25 wt. %, about 5 wt. % to about 15wt. %, and about 12 wt. % to about 15 wt. %.
 20. A method of protectinga gun, comprising: applying a gun oil composition to a metal surface ofa gun, the gun oil composition comprising: a base oil having a highviscosity index; and an oil mixture comprising a base oil having amedium viscosity index and at least one additive.